FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — A cow moose with two calves at Denali National Park and Preserve has injured at least two visitors in the past 10 days.
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — A cow moose with two calves at Denali National Park and Preserve has injured at least two visitors in the past 10 days.
Park staff members are urging visitors to be especially careful around wildlife after the moose’s defensive and erratic behavior near Riley Creek Campground over the last several weeks.
The moose sometimes ignores nearby visitors and other times charges from a distance.
“She is being unusually unpredictable,” said Denali spokeswoman Kathleen Kelly. “At one point somebody can walk by and she doesn’t care. The next minute she can charge somebody who is 50 yards away.”
One woman was hurt badly enough to be sent to the hospital for treatment.
She was taking pictures of the moose and calves when the animal became aggressive and charged the crowd, said Kelly. The woman fell, and the moose brought its hoof down, grazing her ear and striking her shoulder.
The woman’s name has not been released.
Another visitor was left with minor injuries after being charged by the same moose.
Wildlife technicians attempted to scare the moose away from the campground multiple times, even using clear paintballs to encourage it to leave, said Kelly.
But the moose kept returning.
“We’re focused on managing the visitors rather than trying to manage the moose at this point,” Kelly said. “We’re really trying to send out a message on how to behave around wildlife.”
The parks said more visitors are hurt by moose each year than by bears.